Adrian
Job Title
Director
Company and location
UK Business Development Office for the Region of Murcia and
the Principality of Asturias
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Industry sector
Marketing/PR
Background
Clifton College, Bristol
Nottingham University – BA Joint Hons graduate in French and German
Murcia University, Spain (time also spent in Japan) – Master in Dirección
y Gestión en Comercio Exterior
Why is Spanish important for your job?
I am responsible for the promotion of individual companies from Murcia
and Asturias who are interested in exporting their products or services
to the UK market and also in assisting with official promotional work
for any local government body, such as trade missions, institutional
visits, participation in trade fairs, etc.
Spanish is needed for everyday communication with the clients of my office who are all Spanish companies or local government institutions. Without it I would not be able to promote my services to the Spanish companies and nor would I be able to convince them of the attractions of the UK market. I also need a thorough knowledge of Spanish to be able to prepare and translate correspondence, advertising material and business contracts between British and Spanish companies.
Do you speak any other language?
I studied French and German at University but nowadays I work exclusively
with Spanish companies and so I have lost some of my fluency in the
other two languages.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy the opportunity to travel to Spain on a regular basis for work
reasons.
As I lived in Murcia for a number of years, this gives me an opportunity to keep in contact with the friends and colleagues I made there.
I also like the variety of companies and sectors I work with and the challenge this represents. No two days are ever the same and I also have a lot of independence and autonomy in organising the workload of the office.
What experience and other job skills are needed?
Good communication skills in both Spanish and English. Good organisational
skills, as the office is dealing with a number of different clients
at any one time, as well as versatility and adaptability to cope with
different situations. A professional telephone manner, and good marketing
and negotiating skills to try and generate as much interest as possible
for the services or products of our Spanish clients.
Source: Consejería de Educación